N.C. should opt for Medicaid expansion

By Zachary McDonald

Published: Friday, April 4, 2014 at 08:08 PM.

To the editor:

I am writing to you today concerning the state of our nation’s health-care system. I am please with the progress our nation has made over the past few years. It was good to hear that over 7 million Americans recently signed up for health insurance, exceeding the goals for coverage that had been established by the president’s administration.

The Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction but it still fails to ensure that every American is covered. Unfortunately the bill does not guarantee access for every American to our healthcare system. In fact, the only thing the bill guarantees is more profit for health insurance companies as Americans buy insurance. We need to start viewing healthcare not as a commodity but as a human right!

Unfortunately, North Carolina still views healthcare as a commodity and refuses to do the bare minimum to ensure the citizens have access to the healthcare system our nation has collectively built. The state has opted out of the Medicaid expansion that was a key component to the ACA, which would allow access to healthcare for low-income families in the state. Two recent studies have shown that by opting, out hundreds of poor low-income families in the state will lose their lives and businesses will lose millions of dollars annually in tax penalties starting in 2015. It is time for North Carolina to change direction and opt-in, giving Medicaid coverage for those most in need.

Zachary McDonald

Camp Lejeune

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I am writing to you today concerning the state of our nation’s health-care system. I am please with the progress our nation has made over the past few years. It was good to hear that over 7 million Americans recently signed up for health insurance, exceeding the goals for coverage that had been established by the president’s administration.

The Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction but it still fails to ensure that every American is covered. Unfortunately the bill does not guarantee access for every American to our healthcare system. In fact, the only thing the bill guarantees is more profit for health insurance companies as Americans buy insurance. We need to start viewing healthcare not as a commodity but as a human right!

Unfortunately, North Carolina still views healthcare as a commodity and refuses to do the bare minimum to ensure the citizens have access to the healthcare system our nation has collectively built. The state has opted out of the Medicaid expansion that was a key component to the ACA, which would allow access to healthcare for low-income families in the state. Two recent studies have shown that by opting, out hundreds of poor low-income families in the state will lose their lives and businesses will lose millions of dollars annually in tax penalties starting in 2015. It is time for North Carolina to change direction and opt-in, giving Medicaid coverage for those most in need.